Change 17 - Backup Home Videos

I have decided to backup home videos from MiniDV to an external hard drive.

I have three kids.  As you can imagine, I’ve spent quite a lot of time videotaping them.  I have hours and hours of footage, sitting on MiniDV tapes and I need to move that video from those tapes to some other storage media.  In the past, I’ve made a few DVDs, but I want to backup the files on a giant external hard drive.

I have just ordered a pair of 500 GB drives and a 4-pin to 4-pin firewire cable.  I’ll begin to transfer videos as soon as theses items arrive.  (My new laptop requires a 4-pin adapter.)

I don’t know a whole lot about video transfer and compression, but I think I know enough to copy the files from the MiniDV tapes to the hard drive.  Any input would be appreciated.

Change 16 - Update Social Networking Profiles

I have decided to update my social network profiles.

Right now, I have profiles (which I encourage you to check out) over at -

Twitter

FriendFeed

StumbleUpon

Technorati

Delicious

Digg

I need to spend some time organizing and updating my profiles.  I need to add 99 Changes to many of my profiles and I need to update many of them with my new logo.  Also, I need to focus on connecting with others, via these various sites.

Change 15 - Go To Gym Four Times Per Week

I have decided to go to the gym four times per week.

I recently joined a new gym.  In the past, when I would join a gym, I’d go faithfully for a month or two, and then stop going.  But, now that I’m really focused on losing weight, I’ve decided to make this a priority.  My daughter has gymnastics four times a week and if she can go that often, and she’s 8, I can can go that often, too!

I’ll swim at least twice a week and attend ‘boxing style’ aerobics three times a week.  It might be difficult to find the time to go, but I am determined.  What good does it do me to work my butt of to save money and plan for the future, if I’m not healthy enough to enjoy it?  So, starting this week, I’m hitting the gym (a minimum of) four times a week.

By the way, this change REPLACES Change 2 - Walk 45 Minutes.  Walking 45 minutes a day has prepared me for this new change.  But, now that I have the gym, I can combine my workouts and my cardiovascular training.  This doesn’t meant that I’ll stop working, but I won’t worry if I need a rest-day once in a while.